


Unexpected Consequences of Ladyship

by Chibifukurou



Category: Tortall - Tamora Pierce
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-24
Updated: 2010-12-24
Packaged: 2017-10-14 02:04:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/144139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chibifukurou/pseuds/Chibifukurou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Kel was given a title, there were a few consequences she hadn't been expecting. [Not Epilogue compliant]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unexpected Consequences of Ladyship

**Author's Note:**

  * For [torigates](https://archiveofourown.org/users/torigates/gifts).



> A big thank you to Grevling for pulling out an amazing last minute beta.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This story was written for personal enjoyment and entertainment purposes.

Keladry of Mindelan was a lot of things; she was the second female Knight of Tortall, the leader of New Hope, and the savior of the Children of Scanra. What she wasn't was lucky in love. It had never been that important to her, really; she'd always been obsessed with her plans for knighthood, and she'd learned young that a husband held a girl back from from Knightly duties.

Children would hold her back even more, she'd decided, but times had changed. She'd become a Lady in her own right, given the lands that surrounded New Hope, and with them came a certain number of responsibilities, not the least of which involved having heirs.

Kela subtly shifted her weight into a more relaxed position, doing her best not to draw Lord Gareth's attention. "Why can't I just adopt one of the children we rescued from Scanra"? I've grown quite close to them, and they would make fine heirs." She wasn't whining- well, not much- and if she was, who could blame her? She'd wanted to be a knight, not a Lady, and yet she was still stuck dealing with all this Court nonsense.

Gareth looked up from the large book of laws he'd been paging through and met Kel's gaze solidly. "You were given the lands surrounding New Hope in return for your work in Scanra, and that means that you need heirs."

"Which is why I am asking to adopt one of the children. There is a precedence for adopting an heir; Sir Myles did so when he adopted Alana." Thank the Gods for her youthful obsession with the Lioness and for Neal, who had gone over the political ramifications of adopting an heir with her, before she'd come to the Capital to meet with Lord Gareth.

"You are of course correct, but what you have to remember is that Sir Myles of Ollau adopted Sir Alanna when she was an adult, not to mention a Lady in her own right. You are asking to adopt an heir that is both a child and a commoner. The laws are much stricter. " Gareth leaned back in his chair and steepled his hands in front of him.

"How strict?" How bad could it be? King Jonathan was a firm believer in the idea of commoners earning their way into Lordship; surely he would have made equally fair stipulations for children coming into noble families.

"A common child can only be adopted into a noble family and given the title of heir if they are adopted by the Lord and Lady of the Land."

"I don't understand the problem. I'm the Lady of the land and I'll be adopting them."

"You wouldn't think this would be a problem, given all of the work Jonathan and Thayet have done to make women have equal rights, but I'm afraid it is. You have to have the Lord of your land adopt the child as well."

Kel rocked back on her heels. Surely he didn't mean what he sounded like he meant. "A Lord? As in a husband?"

"Precisely."

Kel clenched her hands tightly to keep from yelling. She'd never wanted a husband, and now she was being told that her choices were to have a child out of wedlock or to gain a husband and adopt an heir. "Thank you for explaining this, Lord Gareth."

Lord Gareth's eyes softened and he looked at her with understanding. "I am sorry about this Keladry. I wish things weren't this way, but there are still too many of the old Lords left to the change the laws of succession."

"I understand, Lord Gareth."

Lord Gareth didn't look convinced, but the laws of courtesy kept him from confronting her about her obvious disquiet.

***

Kel approached Neal about her problem as soon as she got back to New Hope.

"You want me to what?" Neal screamed.

Yuki glared at him from where she was trying to comfort their fussing daughter. Neal looked chagrined and motioned for Kel to follow him into the adjoining infirmary.

Once Neal had carefully closed the door to the infirmary, Kel began again. "I want you to contact Dom and ask if he'd be willing to marry me."

Neal ran a nervous hand through his blond hair and began pacing back and forth across the infirmary, arms waving. "You want me to write to my cousin, a notorious lady's man, and ask him if he wants to marry you, so that you can adopt a child together?"

"Stop being intentionally obtuse, Meathead. I'm not asking him to come live with me at New Hope. I just need him to sign some papers, and then we can go our separate ways." She sat down on one of the infirmary beds and pulled her feet up so that Neal didn't trip over them.

"If that's all you want then why don’t you ask Merric? He's a good Knight, and as loyal as they come."

"And he'd expect me to do my marriage duties."

"What makes you think Dom wouldn't?"

"He'll not expect me to do anything while he's traveling around the country with his unit, and I don't want to be tied down with womanly things."

Neal stared it her in disbelief. "You are mad, if you think things will be that simple."

"And why wouldn't they be. It's a perfectly logical suggestion."

Neal shook his head in exasperation."I'll write Dom and ask him for you, but I still think this is a stupid plan."

***

Neal, of course, was right, not that Kel was going to admit it; his head was already too fat. Dom showed up two months after Neal sent out his letter. The most obvious sign that something was wrong was the fact that he was dressed in a plain jerkin and britches instead of his uniform.

The second sign that something was wrong was when he went down on one knee, in the middle of the training yard, and asked for her hand in marriage. Kel was flabbergasted; when she'd asked Neal to write Dom, this wasn't what she'd planned. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Neal shaking his head. She suspected that this was what Neal had been worried about when he'd said her plan was stupid.

Now she just had to figure out what she was going to do about Neal's mad cousin, who was still kneeling in the middle of her fort and waiting on an answer to his proposal. Duty dictated that she accept post-haste so that she could gain an heir but surprise and terror held her tongue.

So she did what any logical young Knight would do when put out of their comfort zone, she yelled, "I need to go patrol the border," and ran for the stable.

One thing was for sure: life at New Hope would never be boring.


End file.
